1999 (And Everything is Just Fine)

1999

(And Everything is Just Fine)

By Sandi K. Snow

Copyright © 2014 Sandi K. Snow

All rights reserved.

Uploading and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.

No portion of this book may be copied, retransmitted, reposted, duplicated, or otherwise used without the express written approval of the author, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review.

Any unauthorized copying, reproduction, translation, or distribution of any part of this material without permission by the author is prohibited and against the law.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Cover design by Captivating Touch Photography

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Table of Contents

Filling in the Blanks

1999

Alexis

June

July

August

September

October-November

December

Just Fine

Seven Deadly Friends

Party of the Millennium

Last Page

End of the Millennium

About the Author

FILLING IN THE BLANKS

Who am I? I am your guide. I am simply here to fill in the blanks. In the summer of 1999 one girl made a goal to keep a diary of her life, no matter what. She had attempted this at other times in her life, but this particular year she was determined to stick with it. Although she tried very hard, and many would consider it successful, she often left blanks in her week or skipped over the details of her day. She felt that maybe that would not matter too much as it was only meant to be a personal outline for her to go back and read when she was much older.

I am not in any way criticizing her attempts. This was by far the best attempt she ever had and that is saying a lot seeing as 1999 was a very rough year for the girl. I will say that I was in fact very close to her and although we had our moments of separation, I am still probably the best person to help get the details out. Anyway, this story is in no way about me and I am going to try very hard to keep it that way.

The girl that you will soon get to know very well started her diary on June 14, 1999. As we go through her diary we will first read what she wrote, exactly as it was written and then I will give you some backstory or fill in the much needed details. Consider me the asterisk at the end of the sentence.

1999!

1999 was a milestone year in history! You may argue that all years are milestones in history, but this was the last year of the millennium! The majority of the population had never written the date without starting with the famous 19. Everyone was excited or anxious about the end of the millennium. If New Years is typically the day one begins a new chapter, 2000 was going to be the start of an entirely new book. The media helped to hype the turning point all year long. The future looked bright for many and still there were those preparing for doomsday.

There was a new threat looking to destroy the digital age; a little bug known as Y2K. If you are a human, perhaps over the age of ten, then I am sure you have heard it mentioned at least once in your lifetime. For those who lived through it, it was mentioned every day, all day the closer it got to New Year’s Eve, 1999. Personally, I won’t pretend that I totally understood Y2K, but I do know that it was a pretty big deal. The premise was that many computer programs abbreviated the full year to just using the last two digits, so we were going from 99 to 00, systems could misunderstand this as going from 1999 to 1900 or even worse 19,100.

I think your average person just wanted to wait and see what would happen at midnight, not really ever putting much stock into it. After all there were genius’ out there being paid to fix this crisis, right? On the extreme there were also the doomsday preparers. Theories suggested that if Y2K happened we could lose electricity, banks would have no money, and planes would be falling from the sky. If this is what you believed, then the world was going to become a very scary place. So they stocked up on ammunition, bottled water, and canned goods. This kind of reaction may sound silly now, but the rest of us would have been royally screwed had they been right.

While Y2K was possibly the most memorable blip to survive 1999, I promise lots of other things happened. The Euro, Furby and Star Wars Episode 1; Kevorkian was found guilty of second degree murder for his mercy kills; April 20, 1999 marked the Columbine High School Massacre, a tragedy on its own, but it also opened the door for many more copy cats in the future; there were a large number of hate crimes in the U.S. and around the world, though sadly that could be any year; and the President of the United States of America, Mr. Bill Clinton, was acquitted in impeachment proceedings following his now infamous extracurricular activities.

Every generation will tell you how much better things were when they were young. Every generation will tell you how the world is going down the shitter. Are things really that much worse than they were twenty years ago? I seem to remember thinking life was great twenty years ago and still hearing my grandparents say what a shame the world is today. Maybe it isn’t the world at all. Maybe we just get a better understanding of how things work as we get older. When you are a child you live in this little bubble surrounded by your family and friends. At some point in our lives something destroys that bubble and we spend the rest of our lives trying to get back to it, back to a time when we merely thought life was great and safe and wonderful. The truth is that our bubble can only exist if we live in ignorance.

For one girl in particular, 1999 would mark the end of that ignorance.

ALEXIS

The girl’s name was Alexis. Her friends called her Alexis, Lexi, and Lex. In 1999 she was 15 years old. She would not turn 16 until December. Turning 16 is a big deal to anyone who has not yet turned 16. Then again so is 18, 21, 25, 30, 40…and pretty much any age after that ending in a 0. To Alexis, 16 meant I’m an adult and I will be taken seriously and my opinion will matter. You know all the typical things a kid thinks before reality slaps them in the face. Alexis had felt very fondly of the millennium. For the three years leading up to it she had already planned to be at an amazing party for New Year’s Eve, she was going to be 16 after all.

Allow me to give you a little backstory on the 15 year old Alexis. Lexi was considered by most, excluding herself, very attractive. She was now 5’9, slim, honest blue eyes, a big inviting smile and golden blond hair. She was sarcastic and goofy, friendly and shy, too honest, and kind of oblivious, innocent, maybe just young. She loved to learn, but hated studying. Enjoyed researching, but disliked reporting. She would always challenge authority but never look for clarification amongst her peers. Alexis would think constantly, but say very little. I suppose she was a contradiction or maybe even an enigma.

Those who knew her loved her and those who didn’t know Alexis, easily misunderstood her. Sometimes she came across as mean or snobby, even perhaps a bitch. Truth was that she would do anything for anyone. She could get along with everyone as long as they gave her the chance, because she was never one to actively look for acceptance, popularity, or friendship. Alexis knew how to roll with the punches and stay positive even if she got knocked down.

Alexis lived with her father and two older brothers. She didn’t remember much about her mother except for one simple truth; things were a lot better since she had left. When Alexis was 15 her brother, Steve was 21 and her brother, Ryan was 18. They weren’t a particularly close family. Steven and Ryan fought all of the time. However, they both, in their own way, looked out for their little sister. The three of them had a pretty typical structure really, they could say the meanest most hurtful things to each other, but if they caught anyone else doing anything to their siblings that person was toast! Steven had brown hair, brown eyes, very negative attitude towards life and not super friendly. Ryan was pretty easy going and looked very similar to Steve except he was thin and Steve was stocky. Ryan was very good at getting into trouble and even better at getting out of it.

The family had been living in a very small town for the past 6 years. Ryan was getting into a lot of trouble in the neighborhood, so their father packed them up, moved them from just outside of Philadelphia to just outside of nowhere, Pennsylvania. Steve had gotten into some trouble in public school, so when they moved the entire family got forced into Private school. The small town brought advantages and disadvantages for each of the siblings. The older two found quieter trouble to get into, which was better for their father, but Alexis had never been a bad kid. For her being in a dead town meant not having any friends in walking distance, not being able to go to the candy store, not having sidewalks! It had been a tough move for her but by the time she was 15 she was well adjusted to rural living.

They had a beautiful house with its very own white picket fence. It was a four bedroom, Cape Cod home with a finished attic and basement. They lived on a curvy country road, shared only by a few other homes all spaced evenly apart. The house had an adequately sized front yard with a birch tree and an oak tree. They sat on about 15 acres of land, most of it going directly back. On the right of the house was their driveway, which sloped around back to the garage. On the left were pine trees, a whole wall of them and on the other side of that was a corn field. Around back there was a nice mix of trees and open space. About an acre and a half from the home was their pond, with a bridge and a pavilion. If you adventured past that you would have come across woods with a long creek and a peaceful island in the middle. This island is worth mentioning because it was a favorite place to be. Anytime Alexis ran away she could be found their on her island. They shared their yard and sometimes driveway with a wide variety of animals; everything from ducks and geese to foxes and bears. The whole property was beautiful and not at all a bad place to grow up.

Having moved to a small town, a half an hour away from her old life Alexis had very little choice about her friends. Sure, she stayed in touch with the old ones and even saw them on occasion over the years, but when you are young if you can’t walk there or ride your bike, it might as well be in another country. One of the other houses on her street was just up the hill. In that house was a family with two daughters. Cara was the same age as Steve and Bel was in between Ryan and Alexis in age. The girls had gone to the same Private school as Alexis and her family and Steve and Cara had been great friends. That was until senior year when Cara and Steve fought over the same dorky guy and that was the end of it. Cara was overweight and homely, but she had been able to survive high school by hanging out with the smart kids. Her sister Bel was not as talented.

Bel was, by 1999, about 5’11 and 300 pounds. She dyed her hair bright red and she had small brown eyes. The school that they went to was not all that cruel that her looks alone would dictate how the other students treated her, but she did strange things to stand out. Her need for acceptance often outweighed her common sense and it would back fire every time. She tried to say she was suicidal; she tried to say she was a lesbian; she tried to say she was a witch; she tried to act like she would beat the crap out of you; she tried to be anything but whom she was and unfortunately that made her an outcast. By 1999 Bel was no longer attending the Private school and was now homeschooling herself.

Alexis and Bel formed a friendship out of convenience. When the next closest kid is a thirty-minute drive you learn to get along. It formed out of convenience, but Alexis truly considered Bel to be a great friend, even despite Bel’s desire to fit in. Bel didn’t have to try to be anything with Alexis. Alexis took her and all her friends as they were. She never judged and she never made anyone feel bad about who they were. Alexis often felt bad for Bel. She hated how Bel would set herself up to fail. Alexis was also protective of Bel, often treating her like a sibling. Bel on the other hand seemed to take the friendship for granted. She would dump Alexis at the drop of a hat to try and gain a new friend and then come crawling back when that plan didn’t work.

Alexis was a great friend, but that had its downside. Being as the two friends did look so different; sometimes being referred to as the number 10 when standing side by side; jealousy became a big factor as the two girls matured into young adults. Alexis started getting a lot of attention from everyone as her body started to form into a mold of the Barbie dolls she had left behind only a few years earlier. If you were a girl in close proximity to Alexis it was hard not to feel inadequate. She never did anything to make people feel this way it was just something that seemed to happen. The same was true with her not doing anything to get the attention of random boys and men. Often people would consciously or sub-consciously do things to Alexis or be mean to her out of jealousy and it took her a really long time to figure out why people treated her this way, even her own brother, Steve was guilty of it. Alexis learned to never talk about how smart she was or how pretty she was or anything that brought attention to her because she got enough attention and negative attention without doing or saying anything, she was afraid to see what would happen if she actually had confidence.

My Written Record of Accounts in My Life

From 6/14/99-??

Monday June 14, 1999

Well, I haven’t written for a very long time, but I have some free time on my hands (it being summer and all), so I thought I might as well. I chose an amazingly boring day to begin. I woke up at 8, did some housework, hung out with Bel a little, came home, watched some movies, and well here I am.

It seems that when you have nothing to write about you do and when good shit happens you can’t find the time. (I AM GOING TO FIND THE TIME!) I should probably write down all of the important stuff that has happened since I stopped writing, but that seems like a lot of work, I am sure that I will remember.

I hope I have an interesting summer, something worth writing about. Summer can be pretty boring sometimes, then again so is the school year. Right now the only goal that I have for myself is to try and expand my vocabulary. Pretty geeky goal, but Steve is always using these big words and he tries to act like he is so much smarter than everyone else. Isn’t the smarter person the one that uses words that everyone will understand?

Well, goodnight!

Tuesday June 15, 1999

NOTHING TODAY! BORING, BORING, AND BORING!

Wednesday June 16, 1999

I woke up around 10 today. I went to the store down the road and got a Pepsi One. I won a free Pepsi! Maybe today will be a good day since I seem to have good luck!

Around 1 Tiff and Bel knocked on the door. They went to some music thing at the park. They said the band playing really sucked and figured I would shake things up, like always. So I went with them back to the park.

We hung out there for a while and then went to the Burger Shack for drinks. It was pretty hot today and I still haven’t gotten shorts. All the shorts out there just make my legs look even more freakishly long than they already are. Maybe I should just make some out of old jeans.

At the Burger Shack I met Charlie. He seemed really nice and gave us our drinks for free. Bel got some kind of big ass meal. Charlie gave me free nuggets and Tiff got a burger. After that we went back to the park. Tiff and I got sick on this spinney kiddie ride thing. Bel kept spinning us and spinning us. I think it was the heat.

Tiff wanted to go back to the Burger Shack to see her boyfriend, Ray. When we got there he wasn’t working but Charlie was still there. I kind of think Tiff likes Charlie more than her boyfriend even though she says she doesn’t. This time we got the kids meals. Then we went back to Bel’s house, Tiff left around 7.

I went to see Gram with Dad. Gram made cookies. Dad and I also stopped at Wal Mart on the way home. They are turning it into a Super Center, whatever that means. I bought Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke. Looks kind of funny, Dad said they were big in the seventies. I’ve been buying a lot of seventies/sixties things lately.

I went to Bel’s house around 11:30pm and stayed probably until 1am. Tiff was sleeping over. I guess she went to see Ray and they got into some kind of fight and she said that he backed right into her knees with his car. I don’t really get their relationship. He seems really nice but then Tiff is always telling me all these horrible things that he does. I guess you never really know the way people are with each other when they are in private. I don’t think I really change that much, but who knows? Besides, why would anybody lie about their boyfriend doing horrible things?

***************

Tiffany or Tiff also went to the same Private school as Alexis. She was in the grade ahead of Bel. Bel and Tiff weren’t exactly friends when they went to school together, but after Bel started getting homeschooled they began hanging out more. Tiff liked Bel as long as nobody was judging her for it. Tiff was short and thin, even with shoulder length hair she was still mistaken as a guy more often than she cared to remember, due to her flat figure. She didn’t have any distinguishing features, brown hair, brown eyes, scrunched her face up a lot. Tiff was the opposite of Alexis in the fact that if someone even smiled in Tiff’s direction she would talk about how badly that person wanted her for at least a week.

Tiff had very low self-esteem and tried to hide it by telling everyone how great she was. This was most likely the main contributing factor as to why she hung out with Bel; Tiff knew she would always look better than Bel. Obviously she became friends with Alexis through Bel. The two genuinely hit it off. They were both mellow. Alexis liked that Tiff had a car and Tiff liked that Alexis brought attention to the group. Although Tiff was probably not really ready for all the attention that would be brought in by Alexis and remain on Alexis.

Ray was dating Tiff and also knew Alexis and her brothers from the school bus. Ray was tall and lanky. He had dirty blonde hair that he kept very short. Charlie was very tall, thin and blonde. Ray and Charlie both worked at the Burger Shack in a town near the Private school everyone attended.

Thursday June 17, 1999

Well, as of 8:13pm NOTHING has happened today. No surprise here!

Friday June 18, 1999

My summers are usually the same. I don’t know if I should even write every day. Maybe I should just write once a month when semi significant things actually happen.

Anyway, nothing happened today.

Saturday June 19, 1999

Nothing! Again. I forgot to mention that Dad had really bad stomach and back pains last night. He has been puking all day. I’m not sure what is wrong with him, but I have been trying to get him stuff when he needs it. It is really weird when your parents are sick.

I bought the Mask of Zorro for $10 today and a four pack of film. I’ve been taking a lot of pictures lately. I really like taking pictures of people and random things and of course nature. I just really hate having to wait to see how they turn out. I looked into digital cameras, but they are so expensive. You don’t have to use film or wait, but I think the quality is pretty crappy compared to film. Even though the megapixels things have gone from 1.2 to 2, still looks fuzzy. I really hope that improves more someday.

Sunday June 20, 1999

Steve took Dad to the hospital today. They left in Dad’s car around 10:30 this morning.

I’ve been trying to get the house nice and clean for Dad so he doesn’t come home to a messy house. I think it will help make him feel better. I also did everyone’s laundry.

It’s 2:09pm and Steve and Dad aren’t home yet.

Reminder: Do not use basement phone. Around 1:30 I answered the phone and you can’t talk on it, so I guess I hung up on someone.

Dad has to stay overnight. They aren’t sure what is wrong with him.

I made a chicken salad sandwich for Steve, Ryan, and myself…that is all we had in the fridge to make. Dad usually does the grocery shopping on Sundays.

Monday June 21, 1999

I hung out with Bel today for a little bit before I went to the hospital. I think I might be getting sick.

Steve’s boyfriend, Bill drove us to see Dad. Bill has a cool Camaro from the 80’s. It is a little cramped in the backseat, but it is still cool. I really didn’t like Bill too much when I first met him, but it is really nice of him to take us all the way to the hospital, so he is growing on me. He is kind of short for a guy, like my height and I guess I would say stocky. Steve and Bill match with their brown eyes and brown hair. They make a cute couple.

Dad is actually about 40 minutes away because the local hospital is scary and known for loosing body parts and stuff. They still don’t know what is wrong with him.

The three of us went down to the cafeteria. Bill got a cheesesteak, Steve got a turkey sandwich and I got a cheeseburger and ice tea. Bill paid for us.

We got home around 8pm. I went over to Bel’s house. We worked on some of her English projects for school. Over the course of the time I was there I ate two pork chops. I talked to Darcy while I was there. She is pretty ok for a mom. She always looks stressed out and she looks like a shorter and older version of Bel. She is worried about my dad. Bel and I watched a lot of TV.

Around 4:30am Bel and I went over to my porch. We watched the sunrise, which was very cool. Around 5am we made tea and then I took pictures of the fog on everything. I hope they turn out as cool as they looked.

We went back to Bel’s and watched part of So I Married an Axe Murderer. Around 8am I decided to go home. Then I went to bed.

Tuesday June 22, 1999

I woke up at 11:30am. Ryan was bugging Steve to give him the keys to Dad’s car. Steve was going to drive him to work but he told me that Ryan stole the keys from him. I think he just let him have them so that he didn’t have to drive. Dad didn’t want Ryan driving the car because if something happens we will all be screwed.

We waited for Ryan to get done with his shift so he could come with us to see Dad but he didn’t want to go. Then he didn’t want to give us the car keys. Steve had to steal them back and then we went to the hospital.

On a brighter note: they figured out what was wrong with Dad, he has a kidney stone.

When we got home Steve’s room was trashed. My stupid brother smashed everything he could find in the room and he let Steve’s cat loose outside. Steve is crying and freaking out about the cat. He wanted to destroy Ryan’s room, but I think I talked him out of it.

Ryan is nowhere to be found and Steve is now sleeping. I have no idea what I am supposed to be doing so I’m going to Bel’s.

We watched the rest of that movie and then I got tired so I went home around 7:30pm. I called Dad to let him know that everything was great at home and that we were all getting along